Probable cause: The pilot's unwise decision to take off in
weather which would necessitate flying solely by instruments when he was
not instrument rated. Contributing factors were serious deficiencies in
the weather briefing, and the pilot's problem with the Bonanza's attitude
indicator.

1959 - American Airlines inaugurated
transcontinental jet airliner service with Boeing-707 flights
between New York and Los Angeles.

In September 1959, the FAA commissioned the new San Antonio Air
Traffic Control Center.

(Convair-880)

1959 - The Convair-880 (110 passengers), a
four-engine medium-range jet airliner, built by General Dynamics
Corporation first flew and entered into service in 1960 with Delta Air
Lines.

"The Pride of Elvis Presley
Airways"

Elvis purchased this Convair-880 in 1975 for $250,000,
and called it the "Lisa Marie," after his daughter. He had
the registration number changed to N880EP, and spent over
$800,000 on customization, which included painting his personal logo:
"TCB" ("Taking Care of Business in a Flash")
on the tail.

February 3, 1959 -
- LaGuardia, NY

February 3, 1959, an
American Airlines Lockheed ElectraL-188 crashed in the East River about a mile
short of the runway, on approach to New York's LaGuardia Airport,
killing 65 of 73 aboard.
(65 Fatalities)

This was the first of many crashes of the Lockheed Electra. The
NTSB determined the probable cause was premature descent below landing
minimums, the result of preoccupation of the crew in the neglect of
essential flight instrument references for attitude and height above the
approach surface. Also limited crew experience in the Electra, erroneous
setting of the captain's altimeter, marginal weather in the approach area,
and possible misinterpretation of altimeter and rate of descent indicator.

In
the interest of Air Safety, the FAA raised the landing minimums for
the Lockheed Electra until a conventional three-pointer type
sensitive altimeter was installed. the FAA also established
autopilot approach criteria and limitations for all air carriers.

The FAA also recommended that all air carriers should establish flight
simulator training programs, prior to putting into service, all aircraft
which require significantly different operational techniques. Additionally,
all large turbine-engine aircraft needed to be equipped with a flight
recorder.

September 29, 1959 -
- Buffalo, TX

September 29, 1959 - A
BraniffLockheed
Electra lost a wing and exploded in flight over Buffalo, TX.
(34 Fatalities)

The Civil Aeronautics Board blamed the crash on the
'whirl-mode' prop theory that overstressed their wings and caused in-flight separation of
the left wing from the
aircraft.

(Boeing-720)

In November 1959, The Boeing-720 (140 passengers), a four-engine
medium-range jet transport first flew, and entered scheduled service with
United Airlines in 1960.

United Airlines was Boeing's first customer for the B-720. The
original jet had Pratt & Whitney JT3C turbojet engines, while the
B-720B had Pratt & Whitney JT3D turbofans, which had lower
fuel consumption and higher thrust. Only 154 were built, and it was
replaced by the B-727.

(1960)

January 6, 1960 -
- North Carolina

January 6,
1960- A National
Airlines DC-6B crashed near Bolivia, North Carolina killing 34 passengers and
crew. Investigation revealed a dynamite explosion, when a passenger had
taken out more than a million dollars in life insurance. The FAA began the
use of baggage-inspection devices.

During the recovery, the remains of one passenger, a lawyer from New York
City, were missing from the accident site. His body was eventually found
16 miles away. An autopsy showed that he had been fatally injured by a
dynamite explosion (probably under his seat). Bomb fragments were found
around the seat where the lawyer had been sitting. The lawyer had been
under investigation for fraud and embezzlement at the time of his death,
had taken out large amounts of life insurance shortly before boarding the
aircraft, and that the bombing was a murder-suicide.
(34 Fatalities)

March 17, 1960 -
-Tell City, IN

March 17,
1960 - Tell City, Indiana - A
Northwest
Airlines Lockheed Electra-188, from Chicago to Miami, FL lost a wing in turbulent air and
crashed near Tell City, IN.

It was determined that the Probable cause for the accident was in-flight
separation of the right wing while cruising at 18,000' due to flutter
caused by unexplained reduced stiffness of the engine mounts (later
defined as "whirl mode"). Violent air turbulence could also have destroyed
the aircraft.

So much wreckage rained over a wide area, as the plane came apart, that it
was first believed to be a midair collision. A wing and two engines of the
turboprop were found about 5 miles from the place where the L-188's
fuselage hit. Almost nothing was left of the airplane.
(63 Fatalities)

The
FAA issued an emergency airworthiness regulation that reduced the
top cruising speed of the Lockheed Electra to provide an adequate safety
margin. The FAA also met with representatives of Lockheed, Allison,
Electra Operators, NASA and the CAB. It was recommended that the Lockheed
Aircraft Corporation conduct an engineering reevaluation of the Electra.

This program included flight tests, structures investigations,
aerodynamics investigations, design studies and special investigations and
tests.

October 4, 1960 -
-Boston, MA

October 4, 1960 - An Eastern
Airlines Lockheed Electra-188 crashed on take off into Boston
Harbor killing all but 10 of the 72 aboard. (The 5th Electra crash
in two years). The presence of many dead birds on the runway indicated
that the accident had been caused by ingestion of birds into the
aircraft's engines rather than structural failure. A number of starlings
were ingested into engines Nos. 1, 2, and 4. Engine No. 1 was shut down
and its propeller was feathered. Nos. 2 and 4 lost power and resulted in
the L-188 yawing to the left and decelerating to stall speed.

The left wing dropped, nose pitched up, and the L-188 rolled left
into a spin and fell almost vertically into the water.

The fuselage broke into two pieces; eight passengers and two flight
attendants in the rear section were thrown out of their seats and were
quickly picked up by boats already in the bay. The front section of the
L-188 sank to the bottom of the bay, taking the majority of the
passengers and flight crew with it.
(62 Fatalities)

To
keep the flying public safe on future flights, the FAA initiated a
comprehensive program of research into turbine engine bird ingestion,
including improving the tolerance of all turbine engines to bird
ingestion.

October 1960 - The
FAA
commissioned two new Air Traffic Control Centersat Oakland, CA -(ZOA at
Fremont, CA) and
Atlanta GA -.(ZTL
at Hampton, GA)

October 29, 1960 -
- Toledo, Ohio(Cal Poly football team plane crash)

October 29, 1960 - An Arctic
Pacific AirlinesCurtiss C-46 crashed on takeoff at Toledo,
Ohio, in dense fog. (Arctic Pacific Airlines had 3 C-46s and 3
DC-3s for its charter operations.) This flight was on charter to the
California Polytechnic (Cal Poly) State University Mustang football
team returning home from a 50-6 loss to Bowling Green. (Cal Poly is
located at San Luis Obispo, CA.)

Visibility at the time was less than 500' (no where near minimum
takeoff requirements that most airlines observe), and the control tower
lacked the authority to stop the pilot from taking off. Later
investigations revealed that the pilot was flying on a suspended license,
but allowed to fly pending an appeal.

The overloaded WWII surplus twin-engine Curtiss C-46 began takeoff when
the plane's left engine quit at about 100' and the plane dipped sharply to
its left and nose-dived into the runway. Accident investigation concluded
that the C-46 was overloaded by 2,000 lbs. above its maximum
certificated gross takeoff weight. Following this crash, the Arctic
Pacific Airlines lost its certificate for charter operations.

22 of the 48 passengers, including 16 players, lost their lives when
the cabin forward of the wings exploded into flames. The tail section,
spared the fire, allowed others to survive, many with horrible injuries.
(22 Fatalities)

Note: NFL Hall of Fame coach (Cal
Poly alumnus, 1957-58)John
Madden's fear of flying is attributed to this crash. At the time of
the crash he was coaching at Alan Hancock Junior College, and he knew many
of the passengers aboard the C-46.

The
FAA implemented new rules concerning control tower authority and
banned the use of chartered aircraft for college sports teams. The FAA
also published a notice in the Airman's Guide that prohibited
takeoff for commercial aircraft when the visibility is below 1/4 mile, or
the runway visual range (RVR) is below 2,000'.

(Midair
Collision)
-Brooklyn, NY

December 16,
1960 - New York City - A UnitedDC-8 and a TWASuper Constellation collided.

December 16,
1960 - A UnitedDC-8 and a TWASuper Constellation collided in midair in a
snowstorm over Staten Island, NYC, NY. One crashed onto Staten Island and
the other airliner crashed into Park Slope, a Brooklyn, NY neighborhood, killing all 128 passengers and 8 persons on the ground.

An eleven-year-old boy, Stephen Baltz from Wilmette, IL was the only
survivor. On impact with the ground, Baltz was thrown from the plane into
a snowbank, where local residents rolled him in the snow to extinguish his
burning clothing. He later died of his injuries in Park Slope's New York
Methodist Hospital.

Probable cause was that the
United flight proceeded beyond its clearance
limit, and an increased crew workload because of an inoperative VHF radio
navigational receiver. A contributing factor was the high rate of
speed of the United DC-8 as it approached the Preston Intersection,
coupled with the change of clearance which reduced the en route distance
by approximately 11 miles.
(136 Fatalities)

To
improve and strengthen the efficiency and effectiveness of its Air
Traffic Control System, the FAA began several steps
including the following:

1. A requirement that pilots flying IFR
must report malfunctions of navigation or communications equipment. 2. All
turbine-powered aircraft must be equipped with distance-measuring
equipment (DME). 3. Improved performance of radar handoff service
for arriving and departing aircraft in the New York Metropolitan area. 4.
Implemented a new airspeed rule prohibiting aircraft from exceeding 250K
when within 30nm of a destination airport and below 10,000'.

1960 - There were 65 aircraft accidents among domestic
scheduled operations in 1960,
resulting in over 350 deaths.

(1961)

(Convair-990)

January, 1961 - The
Convair-990 (121 passengers), a four-engine jet airliner of
medium-to-long range built by General Dynamics Corporation first flew, and
entered scheduled service in 1963 with Swissair.

February, 1961 - The FAA
commissioned the new Cleveland Air Traffic Control Center - (ZOB
at Oberlin, OH) and also
the new Jacksonville Air Traffic Control Center. (ZJX
at Hilliard, FL).

March 3, 1961 - President John
F. Kennedy announced that Najeeb E. Halaby would become the 2nd FAA
Administrator. Halaby earned his student pilot certificate at age 17 in
1933, served as a test pilot for Lockheed early in WWII, and participated
in the first flights of U.S. jet-powered aircraft. He also had a B.A. from
Stanford and a law degree from Yale, and director of his own law
firm in Los Angeles.

Administrator Halaby decided to decentralize the agency's operational
responsibilities and developed a program to open 9 Regional offices:
Eastern Region, Southwest Region, Central Region, Western Region, Alaskan
Region and Hawaiian Region - later Pacific Region.

Western Region Director, Joe Tippets and Administrator Najeeb Halaby

v

Key West, FL - 1st Skyjacking

May 1,
1961 -
Code:
7500(4-digit universal transponder hijack code)-
First Aircraft Hijacking - The first series of aircraft hijackings in
the U.S. began when a passenger on a National Airlines Convair-440
to Key West, FL held a knife to a pilot's throat and points a gun a the
co-pilot and demands the pilot to fly to Cuba. Four other 'skyjacking'
incidents took place by the end of August.

In September, President Kennedy signed into law that interference with
aircrew members or flight attendants in the performance of their duties
was punishable by death or imprisonment for not less than 20 years.

The
FAA took further action to reduce the number of hijackings by implementing
a special corps of FAA safety inspectors, trained for duty aboard airline
flights.

Also in June many Air Traffic Controller positions were raised
one grade to reflect increased job requirements and complexity. (Facility
chiefs and other supervisors were also included.)

September, 1961 -
-Chicago, IL

September, 1961-- A TWA Lockheed Constellation, Flight # 529, exploded, minutes
after taking off from Midway Airport to Las Vegas, LAX and SFO and crashed and burned in a
cornfield near Hinsdale, IL.
(78 Fatalities)

The plane struck with such force that the only remaining sizable parts
were two fins from the triple tail, which were found 400' apart. Craters
three to four feet deep were found where the four engines and nose hit
with pulverizing force.

Flames, fed by more than 3,000 gallons of high-octane fuel, illuminated
the carnage: bodies torn apart, and mother and infant clinging in death's
embrace. The crash wiped out four entire families, one of them with seven
members. A mother with her four children were killed as the husband and
father awaited their arrival in San Francisco.

The official CAB Report said the plane, flying at 1,800 feet heading West
until it turned North at 63rd Street and Clarendon Hills Rd., where the
right fin of the triple-tail Constellation fell off. A second fin was
found 400 feet north, where the rest of the plane hit and shredded as it
hurtled through the fields until the engines and nose burrowed to a halt
at 59th St.

The
FAA, always striving to make flying safer, required an amendment to the
Constellation Flight Manual to include "procedures for turning off the
elevator boost with an uncontrollable elevator". Additionally they
recommended design changes to the shifting system.

September 17, 1961 -
-Chicago, IL

September 17, 1961 - Chicago - A Northwest Airlines
Lockheed L-188 Electra crashes on takeoff from Chicago as a result
of a maintenance error causing the ailerons to become detached from the
control wheels. Just after liftoff from O'Hare, the Electra was
observed to make a right turn with a slowly increasing rate of bank to
30-45 degrees. Immediately at a bank of 50 to 60 degrees, the
aircraft began to lose altitude. the right wing struck power lines at an
angle of about 70 degrees from the horizontal continuing West when in a
bank of about 85 degrees and a nose-down attitude of about 10 degrees, the
right wing of the Electra struck the railroad embankment,
continuing to roll about its longitudinal axis, the Electra cartwheeled,
the nose crashing into the ground and landed right side up.
(37 Fatalities)

The cable physically connecting the first-officer's control wheel to the
aileron boost unit had disconnected and caused the ailerons to put the
L-188 in a starboard-wing-down attitude. The pilots were unable to
correct the bank. The cables had been removed two months before the
accident during routine maintenance. A safety cable that held part of the
assembly together had not been replaced when the cables were hooked back
up. The contact slowly separated and completely failed during the takeoff
sequence.

The NTSB determined that the probable cause of this accident was a
mechanical failure in the aileron primary control system due to an
improper replacement of the aileron boost assembly, resulting in a loss of
lateral control of the L-188 at an altitude too low to effect
recovery.